


Seaside Strolls

by HiddenTreasures



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Post-Episode: s04e13 Journey's End, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-24
Updated: 2017-06-24
Packaged: 2018-11-18 07:27:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 925
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11286519
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HiddenTreasures/pseuds/HiddenTreasures
Summary: The Doctor and Rose go for a walk along the beach and reaffirm the declarations they’d made earlier that day.





	Seaside Strolls

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for @doctorroseprompts‘s weekly prompt “walking on a beach together at sunset”.

“Well, I’m off to bed,” Jackie announced, standing up from the table. “We’re not due to leave for the zeppelin port until ten in the morning tomorrow, so try and get some sleep, sweetheart.”

“I will,” Rose said, tilting her head up so her mum could press a kiss to her cheek. “Night.”

“You too,” Jackie said, pointing accusingly at the Doctor. “Get some rest.”

The Doctor nodded and gave Jackie a tight-lipped smile and a two-fingered salute before she walked out of the little local restaurant a few blocks from the inn they were staying in for the night.

“Ready to head back?” the Doctor asked, running his fingertips around the lip of his empty wine glass.

“Not really,” Rose answered, feeling too wired, despite her exhaustion.

The Doctor nodded, and they lapsed into an awkward silence that Rose hated. This was the Doctor, the person she loved most in the universe, and the person she trusted with her life. But that was also the problem. This was the Doctor, and he was human now, and he was stuck here on one planet and in one time. He had to hate it.

“Care to walk around a bit?” he asked suddenly, pulling her from her anxious thoughts. “We could explore the little shops?”

“Okay,” Rose said, standing.

They exited the restaurant and meandered aimlessly through the little seaside town, enjoying the smell of the warm evening air and salt from the nearby sea.

When they reached the end of the town, the beach opened up to them, and without a word, they both stepped onto the sand to continue their walk.

“It’s pretty here,” the Doctor mused softly, watching the setting sun sparkle blindingly off of the waves.

“I suppose,” Rose allowed.

Silence descended once more, and Rose wanted to scream. She wanted to yell at him and shake him and demand he tell her what was going on in that big, stupid brain of his, because she was going half-mad at his continued silence.

“Look, Doctor, I know that you probably hate this right now, being without the TARDIS and being stuck in this stupid universe and…”

“What?” he spluttered, coming to a stop. “Rose, what are you talking about?”

Rose blinked up at him. “Er…”

“How could I be anything other than overjoyed to be with you again?” he asked softly, giving her a smile so tender that it made all of her previous fears seem so daft now. “How could anything possible compare to you?”

Rose flushed at the reverent praise, and she smiled shyly.

“I’m so sorry if I gave the impression that I’ve been anything other than happy,” he said, smiling sheepishly.

“You haven’t exactly said much.” Rose shrugged. “Didn’t know what you were thinking, honestly.”

“I don’t even know what I’ve been thinking,” the Doctor admitted. “I’m honestly still waiting to wake up and be back in the TARDIS and this has all been a fantastic nightmare.”

“Nope, not a dream,” Rose said, grinning. “I’m real, and so are you.”

“Quite right, Rose Tyler,” he murmured. He stepped up to her and raised a shaking hand to cradle her jaw. His thumbs brushed against her cheeks, and she leaned into the softness and warmth of his hands. “I’m sorry I’ve been quiet. But hear me now: I am so happy to be here with you. So happy.”

“Me too,” Rose whispered, lifting her hands to cover his. “I love you, Doctor.”

He breathed out a relieved laugh, and he leaned forward until his nose brushed against hers.

“I love you, too.”

His breath tickled her lips, and she leaned forward to close the gap. Their lips parted and met softly as they kissed each other leisurely. His lips were as soft as she remembered, but warmer than she was expecting. His breathing went much more ragged than it used to, and she suspected he was still getting used to the lack of a respiratory bypass.

His arms wrapped around her strongly, holding her tight, and she pressed herself closer to his embrace. She buried her fingers into his hair, playing with the soft, silky strands before she scraped her nails lightly against his scalp in a way that used to draw shivers from him.

She grinned against his lips when he moaned and trembled in her arms. His lips grew greedy and slightly uncoordinated. He sucked at her lips and nibbled lightly on them before his tongue darted out to tease her mouth.

“Oh, Rose,” he whispered, pulling back from the kiss to pant for breath.

She pressed soft kisses to the corners of his mouth and across his jaw before she pulled back.

“Snogging on a beach at sunset,” she teased. “Quite romantic, even for you.”

“Well, I can’t woo you with alien planets anymore, can I?”

Rose frowned when she heard the uncertainty in his tone. He’d turned to look out at the colors streaking out from the horizon, and she saw his Adam’s apple bob in nervousness.

“Doctor, you know I never needed that, right?” she asked tentatively, taking his hand in hers. “It was you I fell in love with. Not the travelling. Though that was nice, I loved it because I was travelling with _you_.”

A relieved smile crossed his face, and he gave her fingers a grateful squeeze.

“Shall we walk on?” he asked, nodding to the open beach before them.

“Yeah,” she answered.

She hugged the Doctor’s arm to her chest as they turned and walked into the setting sun, together.


End file.
